Deck 3: The People Component: Service Desk Roles and Responsibilities

Question 1

Once a service desk analyst has developed the required sets of skills, the majority of his/her learning is complete.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Front-line service providers are the service desk staff who interact directly with customers.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Generally, dispatchers try to resolve a high percentage of calls.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In most cases, the ideal candidate for a level one analyst position has an extensive knowledge in a single subject area.

Question 5

Companies typically have either level one analysts or level one specialists; having both results in too much duplicity.

Question 6

In organizations that do not have a technical support specialist position, level one analysts hand off incidents and service requests they cannot resolve directly to the appropriate level two person or group.

Question 7

It is okay for an employee not to have a job description as long as both the manager and the employee know what is expected of the employee.

Question 8

Typically, the person who resolves an incident closes the ticket.

Question 9

McAfee Security and Symantec are both anti-virus software vendors.

Question 10

Typically, when hiring people for front-line positions, employers look for people who are highly technical and then teach them customer service and teamwork skills on the job.

Question 11

Skills that are specific to the customer service and support industry, such as understanding the importance of meeting customers' needs and knowing how to manage their expectations, are considered part of customer service skills.

Question 12

Typically, organizations expect individuals in the technical support arena to have fully developed business skills when they join the workforce. These organizations will then teach them more advanced technical skills.

Question 13

The presence of business skills will increase the opportunities available to a technical professional and increase his or her speed of advancement.

Question 14

Understanding the specific industry in which their organization is engaged helps service desk employees better understand the organization's goals and contribute accordingly.

Question 15

At the very least, companies expect people applying for entry-level positions to be computer literate.

Question 16

Soft skills are the skills people need to complete their work effectively, feel job satisfaction, and avoid frustration or burnout.

Question 17

Working on a team makes an individual a team player.

Question 18

There are currently not any organizations that offer or include soft skills training for service desk professionals as those skills are too subjective to measure. The only certifications available are technical certification programs, such as those offered by Novell or Cisco.

Question 19

Good stress management skills will enable a service desk analyst to eliminate all stress.

Question 20

Soft skills require ongoing assessment and practice, while self-management skills do not require any kind of updating once they have been learned.

Question 21

The size of a service desk determines how many layers of management it requires.

Question 22

Typically service desk analysts establish Service Level Agreements with customers..

Question 23

The most successful service desk managers always keep their technical skills at a high level.

Question 24

Rotating analysts and specialists through various service desk supporting roles is not a very efficient use of their time, so most companies dedicate people to specific positions.

Question 25

Knowledge management is a critical process because the rapid pace of change makes it difficult for companies to provide service desk analysts as much training as the companies or the analysts would like.

Question 26

The responsibilities of a service desk trainer or training group may include providing one-on-one training, developing and delivering training programs, and looking at statistics to determine training needs of service desk staff.

Question 27

Which role would typically have the least amount of interaction with the customer?

A)support group analyst
B)level one analyst
C)dispatcher
D)level one specialist

Question 28

When hiring dispatchers, which skill is least important?

A)interpersonal skills
B)the ability to follow clearly defined procedures
C)technical skills
D)the ability to ensure customer satisfaction

Question 29

Who would be best suited to receive and log contacts, answer questions, and resolve incidents and service requests when possible?

A)level 0 analyst`
B)level one analyst
C)subject matter expert
D)super user

Question 30

Which is true about level one analysts?

A)If they cannot resolve an incident, they typically transfer ownership to the appropriate level two group along with all the available information.
B)They should have excellent customer service skills, but they do not need good analytical and technical skills.
C)They typically solve complex incidents and handle service requests that require a high level of skill or authority.
D)People who enjoy problem solving and helping other solve problems will find this role rewarding and challenging.

Question 31

In an organization with level one specialists, which is true?

A)They typically maintain in-house developed software.
B)They typically receive and log all customer contacts.
C)They resolve routine incidents and service requests.
D)They may represent the service desk on process improvement teams.

Question 32

If a service desk analyst is unable to resolve an incident, he or she should ____.

A)escalate the incident to the correct person and let that person log the ticket and communicate to the customer when updates will be given
B)enter the customer's name and contact information into the ticket, escalate the incident to the correct person, and let that person enter the incident information into the ticket
C)determine how quickly the incident needs to be resolved, escalate the incident to the correct person, and communicate to the customer when updates will be given
D)ask the customer if he or she will wait on hold while the service desk analyst finds someone who has the expertise to resolve the incident

Question 33

Which is a primary responsibility of a service desk?

A)Resolving any and all incidents on the first call
B)Researching complex issues for level two analysts
C)Acting as a single point of contact for support issues
D)Solving any and all problems in a timely manner

Question 34

If an incident that has been escalated to a second level analyst will not be resolved in the target time stated to the customer, a service desk analyst should ____.

A)wait until the target time has expired, obtain a new target time, inform the customer of the new target time, and update the ticket accordingly
B)inform the customer as soon as possible that the target time will not be met and, if available, give the customer an updated target time
C)wait until the incident is resolved, inform the customer of the resolution, ensure the customer is satisfied, and update the ticket accordingly
D)send an email to the second level analyst asking them to set a new target time for incident resolution and update the ticket accordingly

Question 35

When service desk analysts are working with customers, they should ____.

A)discourage and report inappropriate and wasteful use of computing resources such as use of harassing e-mails and printing large unnecessary reports
B)use technical jargon to ensure there is no confusion in what they are saying and to enable customers to learn more about the technology they use
C)defer to the security group for communication of security practices such as changing passwords, not sharing user IDs, etc.
D)ensure that, if another service desk analyst has made a mistake, that the customers know who made the mistake and when

Question 36

Which is correct?

A)If a service desk analyst is aware of a customer using an unauthorized, unlicensed software package for a critical assignment, the analyst should let the customer use the package until the assignment is over and instruct the customer to not use the package again.
B)If a customer is late in completing a critical assignment, a service desk analyst may reset his password without proper authorization as long as he logs a ticket and indicates that he has bypassed the proper procedures in the comments field.
C)If a new employee has started work, and his user id and password have not been created yet, a service desk analyst should let the new employee sign in using a coworker's id for a maximum of 3 days and log a request to create an id and password for the new employee.
D)If a senior level manager, trying to complete a critical project, requests access to data to which he is not authorized to access, a service desk analyst should log the request and follow the proper procedures for granting access.

Question 37

Skills people need that are unique to the profession they support, such as accounting skills or banking skills, are referred to as ____ skills.

A)business
B)soft
C)technical
D)self-management

Question 38

Experience with ITSM and quality management frameworks and standards such as ITIL, are examples of ____ knowledge.

A)service industry
B)business industry
C)industry
D)soft

Question 39

Skills people need to use and support the specific products and technologies the service desk supports are referred to as ____ skills.

A)business
B)computer
C)technical
D)analytical

Question 40

Verbal skills, customer service skills, and teamwork skills are examples of ____ skills.

A)customer service
B)self-management
C)people
D)soft

Question 41

Which would be the best way for an employer to assess someone's technical skills?

A)Ask the candidate questions about a particular subject or ask the candidate to solve a particular problem.
B)Have the candidate take a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test and compare their results to those of current employees.
C)Have the candidate describe handling a past situation in which the customer was unwilling to answer questions.
D)Ask the candidate to bring samples of documents they have prepared, such as procedures or flowcharts.

Question 42

____ is considered a soft skill.

A)Time-management
B)Problem-solving
C)Stress-management
D)Organizational ability

Question 43

Problem solving is ____.

A)basically trouble-shooting a technical problem to resolve the issue and recording the solution in the ticket
B)randomly trying things to find an answer that quickly solves the issue and recording the solution in the ticket
C)searching a database of solutions to find resolutions and trying the easiest ones first
D)logically thinking and methodically determining the probable source of a problem and deciding on a solution

Question 44

____ skills are particularly important in the customer service and support industry because customer service is often ranked as one of the most stressful occupations.

A)Business
B)Soft
C)Technical
D)Self-management

Question 45

Being able to handle multiple problems at the same time, having discipline to maintain personal filing systems, and adapting to change are all examples of ____ skills.

A)business
B)soft
C)time-management
D)self-management

Question 46

____ listening is particularly important when interacting with customers over the telephone or via the Web because they cannot see you nodding your head or making eye contact.

A)Dynamic
B)Active
C)Proactive
D)Non-visual

Question 47

____ is considered a self-management skill.

A)The ability to communicate verbally
B)The ability to solve problems
C)The ability to acquire knowledge
D)The ability to write effectively

Question 48

Which is true about knowledge and information-retrieval?

A)Good analysts try to store all the information they need in their heads, so they can quickly retrieve it when necessary.
B)Retrieving information and acquiring knowledge are basically the same thing, and both are easy to accomplish on a good service desk.
C)Getting ahead in the support industry requires both the ability to retrieve information and the ability to acquire knowledge.
D)Both are activities performed as part of the problem management process and not by the service desk as part of the incident management process.

Question 49

A typical senior service desk manager ____.

A)actively promotes the value of the service desk to upper management and the entire company
B)monitors day to day performance of SLAs and reports any breeches or near misses
C)works with other managers to ensure that technologies are meeting the company's needs
D)generates the daily reports that are given to customers and upper management

Question 50

A typical service desk manager ____.

A)acquires funding for service desk improvements, such as hiring additional staff
B)checks daily statistics to monitor performance of analysts and conducts training to help analysts improve their skills
C)determines the service desk's strategic goals and ensures they are in line with the organization's mission
D)works with other groups to ensure that the service desk's processes and technologies are meeting the company's needs

Question 51

A typical service desk supervisor ____.

A)works closely with senior service desk management on the service desk's budget
B)focuses on long-term service desk goals
C)oversees day-to-day operation of the service desk
D)establishes the service desk mission

Question 52

A set of tools that are used to store, manage, and present information sources, such as customer information, documents, policies, procedures, and incident resolutions are called a ____.

A)knowledge base
B)knowledge management system
C)problem database
D)known error database

Question 53

The ____ must ensure that information sources are reusable, technically valid, and conform to knowledge management standards.

A)problem manager
B)service desk manager
C)knowledge engineer
D)service desk analysts

Question 54

____ is the function within IT that monitors the entire IT infrastructure from a central console or set of consoles.

A)IT Operations Control
B)Service Desk
C)Facilities Management
D)Console Management

Question 55

____ is a typical activity included in service management and improvement.

A)Monitoring the network for sign of degradation and communicating status to customers
B)Participating in the negotiation of SLAs and monitoring performance to ensure that the service desk is meeting its commitments
C)Ensuring that analysts can quickly and easily retrieve information from the knowledge management system
D)Evaluating and selecting new support technology to ensure it meets existing standards

Question 56

Which is true?

A)A team is a group of people doing the same thing with the same goals and values.
B)All team members should have the same levels and types of skills or be attending training to increase skills.
C)Consensus means that all team members fully agree with all decisions that are made.
D)In a team setting, the team performs better than the individual team members alone.

Question 57

SHORT ANSWER
1. A(n) _______ is the person who initially handles customer contacts, questions, incidents, or service requests and then transfers them to the appropriate person or group to be resolved.

Question 58

One responsibility of a service desk professional is to discourage and report software _______, which is the unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented software.

Question 59

Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and adware are examples of _______ and can damage or disrupt computers, computer systems and networks.

Question 60

A(n) _______ analysis is used to determine which of two or more potential solutions would be best for a company.

Question 61

One method that analysts may need to employ when assessing projects is _______, which measures the total financial benefit derived from a new project and compares it with the total cost of the project.

Question 62

A(n) _______ is a problem that has a documented root cause and a workaround.

Question 63

Comparing your service desk metrics with another service desk's metrics in order to find improvement opportunities is known as _______.

Question 64

Network _______ involves activities that use tools to observe network performance in order to minimize the impact of incidents.

Question 65

The term _______ refers to the way a person reacts to situations on a daily basis and is largely a matter of attitude.